Amidst growing public outrage against ''light punishment'' of six months imprisonment awarded to former Haryana DGP, S P S Rathore for moelsting 14-year old Ruchika, the victim’s father emerged before media on Thursday after remaining incognito for years for fear of reprisal from the retired police officer. Subhash Chander Girhotra, whose daughter Ruchika commtited suicide in 1993 three years after the incident of molestation, was in tears as he told the media that he was disappointed with six months punishment to the former DGP. “We want exemplary punishment to the guilty police officer so that no girl in India suffers the same fate as my daughter did,” an emotional Girhotra said. Girhotra had sold off his property in Panchkula near here and settled in some other state after persistent harassment from the police allegedly at the behest of Rathore who was pressing the family for withdrawal of molestation complaint against him. His young daughter could not take persistent threats and harassment to the family and committed suicide after consuming poison. “My family was uproooted. My daughter committed suicide. My son was subjected to police torture and implicated in false cases. We remained underground all these years as we feared the police let loose on us by Rathore,” he said. Girhotra said his family was still apprehensive about their security. Girhotra had lost his wife before the molestation incident and has a son, Ashu, who was implicated in several theft cases allegedly at the behest of Rathore but was acquitted by the High Court in all. A CBI court had sentenced Rathore to six months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1000 for molesting the budding tennis player, Ruchika in 1990. Girhotra alleged that no action was taken against Rathore due to political pressue even though the then director general of police R R Singh had found him guilty of molesting Ruchika after holding an inquiry in 1990- within days of the molestation incident. “The inquiry report was shelved and Rathore became DGP a few years later. The three political parties which remained in power during the pendency of the case against Rathore are guilty of shielding him,” said Girhotra. It was during the regimes of Om Prakash Chautala, Bhajan Lal and Bansi Lal that Rathore thrived and got his promotions despite a serious complaint of molestation against him. An evasive Chautala after avoiding speaking to media on the issue had stated on Wednesday that six months imprisonment to Rathore was less. He said he had removed Rathore from the post of the DGP after CBI’s chargesheet against him.
